Whats with the jet engines?

[daneoni]

My macbook pro has this habit of making its fans rev up like jet engines even when im doing HEAVY tasks such as......web browsing.

I check CPU usage and its like less than 1% so whats going on whats the deal. I even tried sleeping and re-waking up but as soon as i wake up fans start reving up again. This just started like 47 mins ago by the way but it gets like this once a while.

I dont wanna download SMC Fan control in fear that i might mess up settings but im REALLY considering it now.

 

[mmmcheese]

My macbook pro has this habit of making its fans rev up like jet engines even when im doing HEAVY tasks such as......web browsing.

I check CPU usage and its like less than 1% so whats going on whats the deal. I even tried sleeping and re-waking up but as soon as i wake up fans start reving up again. This just started like 47 mins ago by the way but it gets like this once a while.

I dont wanna download SMC Fan control in fear that i might mess up setting but im REALLY considering it now.

SMC Fan Control only lets you specify a minimum fan speed...so you won't hurt anything.

 

[bousozoku]

Are you using it on a soft surface and/or have the vents blocked somehow?

 

[daneoni]

Are you using it on a soft surface and/or have the vents blocked somehow?

No obstruction to vents and im using it on a stack of books....paperback books.

SMC Fan Control only lets you specify a minimum fan speed...so you won't hurt anything.

And you can't even go beyond the minimum setting, so in essence its just an on/off switch for the fans...which is fine.

 

[e12a]

Download and run smcfancontrol. Report back to us what the temp readings are.

another note: are you having it propped up on the paperback books? cause the paperback book gets hot and absorbs a lot of heat..and the surrounding air gets hot as well and then you're just circulating hot air in that small area. That's why Apple recommends a hard surface like a desk. I've learned from experience. Before getting a laptop cooler, i propped it up on some paper book and it got hot real quick...and it was semi-blocking the vents so the fans would be running faster.

 

[imacintel]

Preparing for takeoff, Apple Flight MacBook Pro

 

[Sesshi]

The laptop macs I've come across this year are unusable in real-life situations without SMC Fan Control. (Alas, all but the current MBP missed out on it)

Why I need a third party utility to allow me to have a laptop that doesn't singe me is a mystery, but all I know is that SMC FC reduces sudden upward swings in fan deployment when it's already too late. Install it, tweak the base fan speed to be the highest given your noise tolerance level and be happy.

 

[richard4339]

I've got a MBP C2D 2.16, and personally, it never gets too hot (it does get pretty warm sometimes, usually when Parallels is open, but never so hot I can't touch it).

 

[daneoni]

Installed smc and it reported temps of 49C when the fast were blasting away so i reduced the fan speeds and it idled at around 51. Havent gotten any issues since. The laptop rarely gets hot and the fans rarely blast off but sometimes they just go nuts. Haven't had issues since though. Will keep an eye on it.